Mandated recycling ushers in a new era for ag plastics

The Ministry for the Environment’s announcement of a regulated product stewardship scheme for agricultural plastics marks a defining moment for sustainability in New Zealand’s rural sector.

At Plasback, we welcome this change — it formalises what we’ve been working toward for years: a nationwide, standardised system for collecting and recycling farm plastics.

Under the new scheme, Plasback will partner with Agrecovery to offer New Zealand’s most comprehensive collection and recycling program for agri-plastics.

Together, we’re expanding our reach and capacity to manage everything from bale wrap and silage sheeting to drums, chemical containers and WPP bags.

While this marks an exciting milestone, it also signals significant changes for how recycling will be funded and managed at the farm gate.

As this scheme comes into effect, the responsibility for recycling costs will shift to manufacturers, importers, and ultimately, through product pricing, the farm gate.

This means farmers will play a key role not only in how plastics are collected, but in ensuring the material is clean, sorted, and contamination-free.

For Plasback, the increase in recyclable material is both a challenge and an opportunity.

We are gearing up to handle significantly more plastic volume — but we can only do this efficiently with farmer support.

Clean plastics are critical.

Contamination — such as soil, silage, wire, and other non-recyclable materials — compromises the recycling process, increases costs, and in some cases, renders loads unrecyclable.

As the system grows, so does the importance of doing it right from the start.

Raising awareness across the agricultural sector is now more important than ever.

We will be investing heavily in farmer education — making sure people understand the ‘why’ behind clean plastics, and how to prepare materials for collection.

This means shaking out silage wrap, avoiding rubbish in collection liners, and keeping different types of plastic separated where possible.

We’re proud of the thousands of New Zealand farmers already doing the right thing with their plastic waste.

This mandated scheme will help bring the rest on board, levelling the playing field and putting the country’s ag sector at the forefront of environmental responsibility.

At Plasback, we remain committed to providing a practical, farm-friendly recycling solution.

With the right preparation on-farm and the backing of a nationwide scheme, we can collectively reduce waste, protect the land we rely on, and move toward a circular future for agricultural plastics.